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Sunday, March 19, 2017

Married priest

In an interview with the ZEIT, which appears on Thursday, Pope Franziskus has critiqued the faith.When asked whether he also experiences moments in which he doubted the existence of God, he says: "I also know the empty moments." But the crisis is also an opportunity to grow: "A faith that does not fall into the crisis (...) remains infantile."

Pope Francis experienced himself as a normal believer."I do not see myself as something special," says the head of over a billion Catholics around the world: "I am a sinner and am fallible." To every kind of papal cults, therefore, Francis declares a rejection. "We must not forget that the idealization of a person is always a subliminal kind of aggression." When I am idealized, I feel attacked, "he says in conversation with ZEIT, which took place in the Vatican at the end of February. It is the first interview that Francis gave during his four-year term to a German journalist.

The Pope is concerned about the rise of populism in the Western democracies: "Populism is evil and ends badly, as the past century has shown," says Francis. "Populism means to use the people", he always needs a Messiah and also the justification to keep the identity of the people.

The Pope described the increasing lack of priests as a problem in many countries, for example in Germany. The Church is challenged and should face this and other problems also fearless. The task of theology is to research. "The truth is not to be afraid," says Franziskus, "Fears close doors, freedom opens them, and when liberty is small, it opens a window."

In addition, in the interview on celibacy, the ordination of priests of married men, Francis expresses himself to be hostile to his person and whether he will accept the invitation to visit Germany in the "Luther year".